Trump defends federal flood response in Texas visit

• FEMA did not deploy search and rescue teams to Texas until more than 72 hours after the flooding, per CNN.
• Still, Trump arrived to friendly faces in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott and other Texas officials have continued to praise his response.

The latest: At least 121 people were confirmed dead and more than 170 still missing on Friday, a week after the floods hit, per CBS News.

• President Trump also on Friday approved Abbott's request for federal disaster assistance for more counties, in addition to the hard-hit Kerr County.

What they're saying: "My administration is doing everything in its power to help Texas," Trump said at a roundtable press conference, surrounded by Texas Republican leaders.

• "When the request was made for the emergency funds ... we gave it within about two minutes, maybe less, and they had everything they needed right immediately."

By the numbers: The federal government has deployed more than 400 first responders to Texas, Trump said, and enabled more than 1,500 rescues.

• He did not specify what agency those first responders were working for, but said FEMA has deployed "multiple emergency response units."

State of play: Trump signed the first major disaster declaration on Sunday, two days after the July Fourth flooding, for the hard hit Kerr County, about an hour's drive northwest of San Antonio.

• It will help people with things like temporary housing and home repairs that aren't covered by insurance.
• FEMA also worked with the state to open a Disaster Recovery Center on Thursday.

Between the lines: Trump deflected questions about blame and what went wrong in warning people about the flooding.

• Meanwhile, he said the administration is "taking historic action to ensure that such a nightmare never happens again."